Woman led from building next to Salisbury spy cordon accompanied by emergency service workers past media scrum as pictures show several fire service vehicles and ambulances outside Tesco Extra in Castle Street

Pictures show a large emergency service presence in Salisbury on Wednesday afternoon (March 7) as the police investigation into the suspected poisoning of a former Russian spy in Salisbury continues.

Local reports suggest that four ambulances and three fire engines were in the Castle Street area of the city near to the Zizzi that has been sealed by police.

Footage shows a woman is being led from a building next door to the Zizzi restaurant that is cordoned off away to a nearby ambulance.

Police have not said if the development is linked to the ongoing investigation.

The scene on Castle Street (Image: Carl Groth)

The street is directly behind the Maltings shopping area where former Russian Army Colonel, Sergei Skripel, 66, collapsed along with his 33-year-old daughter Yulia on the afternoon of March 4, after exposure to an unknown substance.

Both remain in a critical conditon.

Cordons remain in place in the centre of Salisbury and the area is under intense scrutiny.

Senior government figures met as a COBRA security committee on Wednesday morning to discuss the situation.

Afterwards, Home Secretary Amber Rudd said more was known about the substance and police would release more details on Wednesday afternoon.

Detectives investigating the circumstances around a man and a woman taken seriously ill in Salisbury are appealing for witnesses and anyone with information to come forward.

At approximately 16:15hrs on Sunday, 4 March, a man in his 60s and a woman in her 30s were found unconscious on a bench near The Maltings shopping centre, Salisbury.

They are currently being treated at hospital for suspected exposure to an unknown substance. Both remain in a critical condition in intensive care. We are not releasing details of the man and woman who are critically ill.

Wiltshire police, along with colleagues from the ambulance and fire services, attended the scene and cordons were established which remain in place.

On Tuesday, 6 March, it was confirmed that the Counter Terrorism Policing network had taken over the lead for the investigation, due to the unusual circumstances and the specialist expertise the network can bring to the investigation.

It has not been declared a terrorist incident and we continue to keep an open mind as to what happened.

Cordons are now in place at a further scene near Solstice Park in Amesbury. This is linked to the investigation and is a precautionary measure.

Officers have carried out CCTV enquiries and spoken to a number of people as part of the inquiry, and they are now appealing to anybody who visited Salisbury town centre and surrounding areas on Sunday afternoon and has not yet spoken to police to get in touch. They are keen to speak to anyone who visited Zizzi restaurant on Castle Street and The Bishop’s Mill pub in The Maltings.

"Working alongside Wiltshire police and partner agencies, we continue to carry out extensive inquiries. This investigation is at the early stages and any speculation is unhelpful at this time.

"The focus at this time is to establish what has caused these people to become critically ill. We would like to reassure members of the public that this incident is being taken extremely seriously and we currently do not believe there is any risk to the wider public.”

He added: "We are appealing for anyone with information about the incident to contact police immediately on 999. We would like to hear from anybody who visited the area close to the Maltings shopping centre where these two people were taken ill on Sunday afternoon, and may have seen something that could assist the investigation.

"The two people taken ill were in Salisbury centre from around 13.30hrs. Did you see anything out of the ordinary? It may be that at the time, nothing appeared out of place or untoward but with what you now know, you remember something that might be of significance. Your memory of that afternoon and your movements alone could help us with missing pieces of the investigation. The weather was poor that day so there were not as many people out and about. Every statement we can take is important."

Temporary Chief Constable of Wiltshire Police Kier Pritchard said: "We continue to work with our partners, including Public Health England, the local NHS trust, local authorities and emergency services. The public will continue to see a high visible policing presence in Salisbury city to help reassure our communities"

Counter Terrorism Policing is an alliance of UK police forces. Whilst the core mission involves working closely with security and intelligence agencies to prevent, deter and investigate terrorist activity the skills and specialist capabilities of CTP are utilised in a range of other specialist investigative areas. These include war crimes, Official Secret Act offences, the policing response to counter-espionage and counter-proliferation, some threats to VIPs, and other cases where the specialist skills are best placed to investigate allegations.

As police mounted one of the most politically sensitive inquiries for years:

The Russian Embassy said it was 'completely untrue' to suggest the country's special services were involved and criticised Mr Johnson for speaking 'in such a manner as if the investigation was already over.'

Scotland Yard said the probe is being led by the counter-terrorism policing network because of its 'specialist expertise' adding: "It has not been declared a terrorist incident and at this stage we are keeping an open mind as to what happened"

A military research facility at Porton Down, Wiltshire, was believed to be involved in examining what could have caused the father and daughter to fall ill

It was revealed that a "small number" of emergency services personnel, including police, were assessed immediately after the incident, one was still in hospital on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Theresa May and senior ministers were updated on the investigation at a meeting of the National Security Council

A meeting for the COBRA emergency security committee was being held on Wednesday morning.

What does the Russian Embassy say?

The Russian Embassy issued a statement saying it had not been provided with any official information about the incident.

Accusing the media of "launching a new phase of the anti-Russian campaign ongoing in the UK", the Embassy later added: "We are unimpressed by the statement of the Foreign Secretary in Parliament today.

"The Foreign Secretary spoke in such a manner as if the investigation was already over and Russia was found responsible for what had happened in Salisbury.

"We regret that instead of a proper official clarification on the issue the Foreign Secretary chose to threaten Russia with retribution.

"Looks like the script of yet another anti-Russian campaign has been already written."

Read More

Salisbury 'spy' incident

Want news straight to your phone?Somerset Live has launched a WhatsApp group to help you keep up to date with the latest news from across the county. If you'd like to receive breaking news alerts, text NEWS to 07834 893492. Then add the number to your phone contacts book as 'Somerset Live’. We will send you a maximum of four messages a day. Your phone number won't be shared with other members of the group or be used for any other purpose.